THE  RELATION 

of  the 


INDIANAPOLIS 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

to  the 

INDIANAPOLIS  SCHOOLS 

PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE 


THE  LIBRARY 

The  Indianapolis  Public  Library  was  established 
in  1873  for  the  citizens  of  Indianapolis,  and  is  under 
the  direction  of  the  Board  of  School  Commissioners. 
It  is  supported  by  a tax  levy  of  four  cents,  which 
is  a separate  tax  from  that  levied  by  the  Board  for 
school  purposes. 

The  library  system  includes  a main  building  and 
nine  branches,  with  delivery  and  deposit  stations  at 
points  at  a distance  from  the  main  building. 

The  main  building  is  the  storehouse  for  its 
130,000  books,  and  the  center  of  the  greater  part  of 
the  routine  work — all  book-buying,  classifying, 
cataloguing,  binding  and  the  heaviest  part  of  the 
reference  work.  Two-thirds  of  the  circulation  of 
books  for  home  use  are  from  this  main  building. 

The  branches  are  located  in  North  Indianapolis, 
Haughville,  corner  of  Prospect  and  Nelson  streets, 
South  Meridian  street,  West  Indianapolis,  Bright- 
wood,  Irvington,  corner  McCarty  and  Chadwick 
streets,  and  corner  Pennsylvania  and  Thirty-third 
streets. 

These  branches  are  open  from  12 130  to  8 p.  m., 
except  the  Bona  Thompson  Library  in  Irvington, 
which  is  open  from  9 a.  m.  to  9 p.  m.  during  the 
college  year  and  summer  school  of  Butler  College. 
Through  August  and  September  regular  branch 
hours  are  observed  here. 

Each  branch  is  equipped  with  a permanent  library 
for  reference  and  circulation — an  average  of  2,500 
books  in  each  building;  each  branch  has  a good  list 


’bttS’T 

_____ 

of1  periodicals  that  are  bound  and  circulated  as 
books  as  each  volume  is  completed.  The  collections 
of  books  in  the  branches  are  constantly  freshened 
by  loans  of  the  newer  books  from  the  main  library. 
The  branches  are  also  delivery  stations,  through 
which,  twice  each  week,  books  may  be  obtained 
from  or  returned  to  the  main  library,  thus  saving 
long  trips  down  town.  At  the  branches,  at 
intervals,  the  story  hour  is  held.  The  stories  given 
are  designed  to  awaken  and  stimulate  the  interest 
of  the  children  in  good  literature. 

In  the  main  library  there  are  many  features  of 
particular  interest  to  teachers  and  pupils ; free  ac- 
cess to  the  books,  or  the  assistance  of  attendants 
if  preferred. 

A typewritten  copy  of  the  classification  is  posted 
on  the  ends  of  the  bookcases  in  the  general  stack- 
room. 

A dictionary  card  catalogue  that  contains  author, 
title  and  subject  cards  of  all  books  in  the  library 
is  in  the  reference  room. 

The  monthly  bulletins  of  the  new  books  and 
short  lists  of  books  on  interesting  and  timely  topics 
are  sent  to  the  school  buildings  as  issued. 

CARDS 

In  addition  to  a personal  card,  each  teacher  is 
entitled  to  a teacher’s  card  with  which  may  be 
drawn  six  books  for  use  in  connection  with  school 
work.  To  renew  a book,  card  and  book  number 
must  be  presented.  To  transfer,  both  cards  and 
book  must  be  brought  to  the  library. 


WORK  WITH  CHILDREN 

The  children’s  room  in  the  main  building  is  one 
of  the  most  important  departments  in  the  library. 
This  is  a minature  library  in  itself,  some  of  the 
books  in  each  division  of  the  classification  may  be 
found  here — history,  travel,  poetry,  useful  arts  and 
stories  in  abundance. 

In  the  children’s  room  the  pupils  from  the  grades 
are  taken  care  of — reference  work  as  well  as  cir- 
culating books  is  an  important  part  of  the  daily 
routine. 

Bibliographies  are  prepared  in  this  department 
and  also  in  the  school  reference  department.  Lists 
already  made  of  books  on  many  subjects  are  to 
be  had  at  the  desk  for  the  asking. 

The  collections  of  pictures  for  use  in  connection 
with  history,  geography  and  nature  work  are  issued 
from  the  children’s  room.  For  special  work  in 
ornament  and  design  some  of  the  many  beautiful 
plates  in  the  art  room  may  be  borrowed  for  a short 
time — for  use  in  the  art  room  itself,  these  plates 
are  all  available. 

Copies  of  all  school  outlines  are  on  file  at  the 
desk  in  the  children’s  room. 

The  loan  collections  of  books  sent  to  the  outlying 
school  buildings  are  made  up  in  the  children’s  room. 
Any  principal  of  a school  at  a distance  from  library 
or  branches  may  ask  for  fifty  (or  less)  books  to 
be  used  in  connection  with  the  work,  or  to  be  cir- 
culated from  the  building.  Fiction  and  miscellaneous 
books — a little  of  everything — is  included.  The 


teachers  in  the  building  may  make  up  this  list,  or 
it  may  be  left  to  the  library.  These  books  are  not 
intended  as  supplementary  reading,  but  that  the 
children  of  the  upper  grades,  many  of  whom  leave 
school  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  year,  may  become 
acquainted  with  the  library  and  the  fact  that  books 
in  unlimited  quantities  are  theirs  for  the  asking 
after  they  have  passed  beyond  the  realm  of  text 
books. 

SCHOOL  REFERENCE 
DEPARTMENT 

Here  is  the  connecting  link  in  the  library  between 
the  lower  grades  and  high  schools.  Reference  work 
is  done  in  this  department  with  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  and  first  and  second  years’  high 
school  pupils,  with  the  individual  or  with  a group 
of  students. 

If  word  is  sent  in  a few  days  before  the  schools 
begin  work  on  a given  subject,  the  assistant  will 
make  up  for  the  reserve  shelf  a good  reference  col- 
lection of  books  from  the  circulation  department, 
which,  in  addition  to  cyclopaedias  and  magazine 
articles,  will  be  held  for  use  during  the  necessary 
period.  Failure  to  send  this  notice  means  that  even 
a generous  supply  of  books  will  be  well  out  in  cir- 
culation before  the  school  reference  department  has 
had  an  opportunity  to  learn  that  the  reserve  shelf 
will  be  needed. 

This  department  has  charge  of  the  special  refer- 
ence libraries — a collection  of  eight  or  ten  standard 


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books  on  one  subject,  which  may  be  loaned  t 
teacher  for  from  one  to  four  weeks.  The  rene~ 
will  be  arranged  by  the  library.  Requests  for  th 
libraries  must  be  sent  to  the  school  reference 
sistant  two  days  before  the  school  wagon  goes 
the  building  from  which  the  request  comes. 

At  least  once  during  the  year  the  school  refere 
assistant  visits  each  school  building,  talks  to 
seventh  year  pupils  and  invites  them  to  come  to 
library  and  use  this  department.  She  tells  t 
how  they  may  get  the  greatest  benefit  from 
library,  and  teaches  them  how  to  use  the  books 
the  circulating  department  in  connection  with 
addition  to  the  books  belonging  in  the  regular 
erence  room. 

These  are  some  of  the  things  the  library  is  d^ 
for  some  of  the  citizens  of  Indianapolis.  An 
tempt  to  give  in  detail  an  account  of  all  thatf 
being  done  in  every  department  for  all  the  patr 
of  the  library  would  result  in  a volume  of  too 
bitious  proportions  for  the  writer  to  undert 
Come  and  see  for  yourself  what  the  Public  Libr[ 
may  mean  to  you. 


